Objective To investigate prognostic factors for patients with hepatic encephalopathy（HE）and hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）undergoing Liver transplantation. Methods Retrospectively we analyzed the clinical data and survival outcomes of 292 patients with hepatic cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent first liver transplantation in Tianjin First Center Hospital. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were established to compare the 5-year survival of patients with or without HE. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were performed to identify independent risk factors for poor outcomes. Results The overall long-term survival rate of patients in HE group was not lower than that in none-HE group. Univariate analysis showed that thehigh risk index of tumor prognosis was AFP ＞ 1 000 μg/L，portal vein embolization，TNM staging，stage Ⅲ，Ⅳ stage，moderate differentiation and low differentiation. Independent risk factors for postoperative cumulative survival included AFP，tumor size，differentiation，portal vein thrombosis，and TNM staging. Conclusion HE is not a major risk factor effecting post-transplant mortality of patients with HCC. Presence of HE improve detection rate of early HCC. Positive control of HE during pre-transplant period is beneficial for prognosis.